Jack A. Gordon

Managing Partner

Biography

After more than eight years as a litigator with one of the nation’s largest and most preeminent law firms, Jack Gordon formed his own law practice and soon joined with partners Michael Kent and Harry Beatty in 1997. He has been rated ‘AV’ by Martindale-Hubbell since 1999 and, for every year since 2013 he was named both a Top 100 Lawyer by Top 100 Lawyers Magazine and a New York Metro Area Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. He is listed in the 2018 editions of the Marquis publications, "Who's Who in American Law" and "Who's Who in the World" and is a recipient of the 2018 Marquis Who's Who Lifetime Achievement Award.

He is an extremely successful litigator who concentrates in commercial matters in a wide range of industries. His practice also includes all aspects of employment law. He regularly advises corporations and financial institutions as well as senior executives on matters of compensation, employment and injunctions involving departing executives.

He has resolved legal disputes for major corporations over intellectual property, dissolutions, employment benefit claims and endorsement contracts. For example, Jack headed the litigation team that, in January 2015, represented Broadspring Inc. in a jury trial before Judge Sullivan in the Southern District of New York against Congoo d.b.a. Adblade and its two most senior executives for defamation arising out of false reviews they posted in trade publications using fake names. After seven full trial days, the jury returned a verdict for our client, including the imposition of punitive damages. In addition, Jack obtained a multimillion dollar settlement for Tarrant Apparel Group in widely-publicized litigation against the actress Jessica Simpson for breach of her celebrity endorsement contract. Jack also headed the team that led to the August 2011 dismissal of all claims of copyright infringement brought against his client, renowned photographer Ryan McGinley, as well as the Second Circuit's affirmance of that dismissal in November 2012.

Jack also heads KB&G’s hospitality practice. The firm's hospitality group provides comprehensive legal advice to numerous restaurants, wine bars and retailers, and nightclubs in New York and New Jersey as well as nationwide, and it also serves numerous wine and spirits importers, distributors and retailers. In March of 2015 Jack was the subject of Eater Magazine's "33 Photos With" series by Nick Solares. The feature article can be viewed here. In addition, Jack has been a lecturer at the Institute of Culinary Education since 2010, where he teaches a unit on the legal aspects of opening and running a restaurant or wine bar, and he is on the faculty of CLE-providers LawLine and The National Business Institute, where he instructs lawyers and other professionals on hospitality-related issues. In November of 2017, Jack was a guest lecturer at Columbia University, where he instructed MBA students taking a graduate course in Food Entrepreneurship. In March of 2017, Jack sat on a panel at the New York City Bar where he and his fellow panelists taught, "Opening a Restaurant in New York: Legal Issues Boot Camp." His seminars are viewed and/or attended by hundreds of participants. Jack is a member of the NY City Bar Association Hospitality Section where he serves as Chairman of the Business Law Subcommittee, as well as a Board member of the Wine & Food Society of New York. He is also a Commandeur of The Commanderie de Bordeaux and a Knight of the Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba, a member of the Essex County Wine Society and the Essex Fells Area Wine Tasting Society, among others.

His diverse practice includes serving as litigation counsel to major telecommunications, on line content and advertising providers and video game developers and distributors.

He is a Member of the New York State and American Bar Associations (Litigation Sections) and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bars, the United States District Court for the Districts of New Jersey and the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, and the Bars of the Second, Third, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the United States Supreme Court.

He also is a member and Trustee of the Roseland, New Jersey, Historical Society, a Board Member of the Roseland Planning Board, a Trustee of the Roseland Landmarks and Historic Districts Commission, and a life member of The American Philatelic Society. In addition to his legal work and civic responsibilities, Jack is a principal in Bumble Bee Productions, LLC, a New Jersey-based film production company dedicated to producing feature-length films, including the historical documentary, The Bond Force Legacy.

“I devote 100% of my attention to every matter. It’s not just the devil that’s in the details; it’s success.”

Jack is an avid oenophile, and his love of wine perfectly complements his hospitality practice.